Daley holds back on Field's issue

When the then-owners of Marshall Field's planned to move the chain's Frango mint candy-making operation out of Chicago six years ago, Mayor Richard Daley erupted.

But now, with a new owner on the horizon and the possibility of the Field's name going dark altogether, Daley on Tuesday took a much more measured approach.

He said he's taking a wait-and-see attitude as Federated Department Stores of Cincinnati seeks to acquire a department store chain that for years has been a symbol of Chicago and bears the name of one of the city's pioneers.

"Everybody's speculating," Daley said. "They haven't done anything. ... Why should I be commenting on something that no one knows is going to happen or not?"

Amid conjecture that the Field's name could be committed to history in favor of the Macy's or Bloomingdale's brands of Federated, corporate officials so far have not tipped their hands.

Outraged at the loss of jobs and of a confection identified with the city, Daley declared, "My message to Dayton Hudson's chairman and CEO, Robert Ulrich, and the president of its Department Stores Division, Linda Ahlers, is: `You should have given the city of Chicago an opportunity to work with you to keep Frango mint production here in Chicago.'"

But, in the end, the mayoral fuming did no good.

The Field's issue came up during a news conference called to announce the mayor's One Book, One Chicago program.

In response to another question, Daley said City Hall played no role in the subcontracting work awarded to a politically connected businessman by the new Chicago Skyway operators.

Armando Gomez's fledgling firm partnered with another company to win a $1.6 million-a-year contract to collect tolls and manage revenues from the skyway.

Gomez worked as a liaison to the Daley administration when he was employed by United Airlines, was appointed by the mayor to a seat on the Regional Transportation Authority Board in 1995 and has hired the law firm of former top Daley aide Victor Reyes to lobby for his company.

"Sure, I know him," the mayor said. "He's on the RTA Board."

But Daley said he played no role with the skyway's new operators in landing the business for Gomez.

"You can't blame this one on me," he said.

On another topic, Daley voiced support for an agreement under which the Chicago Cubs would get permission to build an expanded bleachers section at Wrigley Field and a commercial building adjacent to the ballpark in return for payments totaling $3.1 million for city-owned land and another $650,000 for two neighborhood improvement projects.

Four years in the making and with acrimonious negotiations along the way, Daley said, "In the long run, parties will sit down. They will have differences, and they can overcome any differences they may have. ... This is a win for the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Tribune and the city of Chicago."

Wrigley Field and the Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.